1.0ALSC Bloghttps://www.alsc.ala.org/blogEllen Riordanhttps://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/author/ellen-riordan/ONE OF OUR OWNrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="slz98rSp1n"><a href="https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2014/11/one-of-our-own/">ONE OF OUR OWN</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2014/11/one-of-our-own/embed/#?secret=slz98rSp1n" width="600" height="338" title="“ONE OF OUR OWN” — ALSC Blog" data-secret="slz98rSp1n" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script>
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On my trip to Beijing to attend the Chinese Library Association, I was struck by how different everything was from America. Perhaps this seems to go without saying but I had never been as immersed in a culture and a language that had no foothold for me. There to speak about our Caldecott Award, my only point of reference was the familiar illustrations from much beloved books though I couldn’t recognize a word of text. One of our hosts, Mr. Wang, is head of the National Children’s Library. He is an energetic, brisk man who dresses very formally in a blue suit. Despite his habit of looking to our translators when he needed to make a point and wanted to talk fast, Mr. Wang understood English very well. I could tell by the way he would nod his head vigorously in agreement when we spoke about our work: its ability...